Category: Mexico

The Cascajal block from Veracruz, Mexico is apparently inscribed with a previously unknown Olmec writing may be the oldest text in the New World.Credit: Stephen Houston

This teaser is from an article posted at the LiveScience website in 2009 that I just happened to run across. It’s interesting.

A stone block from Mexico thousands of years old apparently inscribed with a previously unknown writing may be the oldest text in the New World, an international team of archaeologists said today.

This find lights the hope of future discoveries of written records detailing the Olmecs, the likely creators of the block and the ancient civilization that in many respects was the progenitor of all later complex societies in Mesoamerica, such as the Maya and the Aztecs.

…

Surrounding the Cascajal block were ceramic sherds, fragments of clay figurines and broken stone artifacts. Based on their design, the researchers dated the slab back to 3,100 years or before, at least 400 years before writing was thought to have first appeared in the Americas.

New Services Will Help Mexicans and More Than 34 Million Mexican Americans Explore Their Family History

PROVO, UT AND DUBLIN, IRELAND, Oct 28, 2015 (Marketwired via COMTEX) — Ancestry, the world’s leading family history brand, today announced the launch of new online services that will help Mexicans and the estimated 34 million Mexican Americans* research their family history. More than 220 million searchable historical records from Mexico, including new birth, marriage, and death records dating back to the 1500s are now available on the Ancestry site, many of them important historical records never before available online. In another first, the new Ancestry Mexico site (ancestry.com.mx) will provide a Spanish language experience tailored specifically to Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

With such a culturally diverse population, nearly every citizen in the United States has ancestral connections to regions outside of America. Ancestry has been working hard over the past few years to help people of Hispanic and Latino origins discover, preserve and share their family history by making important collections from Mexico searchable online to get them started. These new records launching today were made available in part through Ancestry’s collaboration with the Mexican Academy of Genealogy and Heraldry based in Mexico City, Mexico, who originally created microfilm of these records with the assistance of FamilySearch International. These records will help Mexican Americans build and explore their family tree and unveil key events, places, and relationships in the lives of their ancestors, including the names of family and friends involved as witnesses or godparents.

“The new service really unlocks for the first time online, family history research for Mexicans and Mexican Americans, whether you prefer to speak English or Spanish,” said Todd Godfrey, Vice President of Global Content at Ancestry. “It is fulfilling a huge need for a large and growing population group in the United States by helping them find their own unique stories and place in American and Mexican history.”

The people of Mexico have a diverse culture that comes from a variety of regions, including the indigenous peoples of Central and South America, and early immigration from Europe. With a deep sense of pride in this rich heritage, they are passionate about family and have been celebrating their ancestors for hundreds of years.

“Mexican Americans have honored their ancestral traditions, but have been largely unable to discover online who those people were and learn more about their lives. Ancestry is now opening that door and helping them not just celebrate their ancestors, but be able to tell their stories and connect on a more personal level than ever before,” said Godfrey. “We believe there couldn’t be a better time to make these new discoveries available than during Dia de los Muertos, a time of year when celebrating the lives of those who came before is most special.”

The Ancestry Mexico site is designed to meet the unique needs of people in Mexico, as well as Mexican-Americans with plans to enhance the service early next year. After the FREE access period ends, Ancestry Mexico will be available through two subscription packages: the Mexico + US Package ($10-$12 USD per month), which will include access to all Mexican records plus US records relevant to Mexican Americans including census, immigration, border crossings, BMDs, and relevant regional records, or as part of Ancestry’s World Explorer package. All records from Mexico are also being made available as part of the World Subscription on the Ancestry.com website.

Help Us Publish More Free Records Online
Searchable historical records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of online volunteers worldwide. These volunteers transcribe (or index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are always needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published weekly online on FamilySearch.org. Learn how you can volunteer to help provide free access to the world’s historical genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org/Indexing.

About FamilySearch International
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Family historians hungry for historic Irish records will enjoy FamilySearch’s new collection, Ireland Petty Sessions Court Registers 1828-1912. These indexed court documents bring 22 million records to your fingertips. These records were originally filmed at the National Archives of Ireland and the index was created by findmypast.com. See the table below for additions to over 60 historical record collections, including 46 million US obituaries. Click on the collection’s link to start your discovery.

Help Publish More Free Records Online
Searchable historical records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of online volunteers worldwide. These volunteers transcribe (or index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are always needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published weekly online on FamilySearch.org. Learn how you can volunteer to help provide free access to the world’s historical genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org/Indexing.

About FamilySearch International
FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historical genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historical genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

FamilySearch has added close to 11.1 million indexed records and images to collections from Barbados, BillionGraves, Brazil, Canada, England, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 1,703,529 indexed records from the U.S., Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1846–1910, collection; the 766,368 indexed records and images from the new Canadian Headstones, collection; and the 2,917,490 indexed records from the England, Kent, Register of Electors, 1570–1907, collection. See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the worldís historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org .

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The following is from an article by Matt Mcgowan, published in the February 13, 2014 edition of medicalxpress.com.

(Medical Xpress)—Epidemiological data integrated with climate data taken from tree-ring estimates of soil moisture levels demonstrate that drought contributed to the spread of typhus in Mexico from 1655 to 1918, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Arkansas.

…

“The observed relationship between drought and typhus epidemics in colonial and modern Mexico is curious because drought has not been specifically considered a risk factor for typhus,” Burns said. “But drought, much like war and natural disasters, caused famine in poor, agricultural regions and forced impoverished refugees to move into already crowded urban areas where infrastructure and sanitary systems were insufficient.”

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The following is from FamilySearch:
FamilySearch has added more than 39.5 Million indexed records and images to Collections from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, El Salvador, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Notable collection updates include the 24,856,324 indexed records and images from the U.S., New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909-1957, collection, the 2,284,230 indexed records and images from the Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922, collection, and the 3,399,062 indexed records from the U.S., New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1891, collection. See the table below for the full list of updates. Search these diverse collections and more than 3.5 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas: A Complete Digest of the Records of All the Countries of the Western Hemisphere is the most comprehensive collection of information on colonial period records covering the entire Western Hemisphere, both North and South America. As far as I know, there is no other single reference for records sources covering the colonial periods for the entire hemisphere.

This book examines the colonial period from the earliest European colonization in the Western Hemisphere until:

the American Revolution for the thirteen colonies

statehood was obtained for other U.S. states

Latin American countries which did not declare independence from Spain and Portugal until 1808 or later

Caribbean countries and dependencies through about 1810

the abolition of the slave trade, for slavery related records, including dates of emancipation

For each country, the author Christina K. Schaefer, provides an historical background and brief sketches of the records themselves, plus descriptions for the principle holding of the major repositories. Record groups are broken down into similar categories for each country. Common sections include church and ecclesiastical records, census records, notarial records, governmental and municipal records, military records, land records, etc. A list of suggested readings rounds out each chapter.

At 814 pages, this reference is indeed extensive. It may be literally impossible to cover every possible resource in a single project. Still, Schaefer has provided a treasure trove of information vital to genealogical record finding. If you need colonial period records for anywhere in the Americas, this book can help.

Table of Contents

Preface

Part One: Going Beyond the Line, a Chronology

Chronology of colonial history

Dates of the first colonial governors

Part Two: Latin America

Introduction

Colonies founded by Spain

Argentina

Bolivia

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

Honduras

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Uruguay

Venezuela

Colonies founded by England, France, The Netherlands, and Portugal

Brazil

The Guianas

Belize/British Honduras

The Falkland Islands

Part Three: The Caribbean

Introduction

The Bahamas

Barbados

Bermuda

The British Leeward Islands

The British Windward Islands

Cuba

The French Antilles

Hispaniola

Jamica

The Netherlands Antilles

Puerto Rico

Trinidad and Tobago

The Virgin Islands

Part Four: The Thirteen Colonies, Maine, and Vermont

Introduciton

New England Colonies

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Rhode Island

Vermont

Middle Colonies

Delaware

New Jersey

New York

Pennsylvania

Maryland

Southern Colonies

Virginia

North Carolina

South Carolina

Georgia

Part Five: Other U.S. States with settlements prior to the Revolution

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Florida

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Louisiana

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

New Mexico

Ohio

Tennessee

Texas

Wisconsin

Part Six: Canada

New France

Introduction to New France

Quebec

Ontario

Acadia

Introduction to Acadia

Nova Scotia

New Brunswick

Prince Edward Island

Other North American Colonies

Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon

Newfoundland and Labrador

Rupert’s Land

Part Seven: Resources for Further Research

Religious groups in the New World

Africa and the New World

Colonial sources in Denmark

Colonial sources in France

Colonial sources in Great Britain

Colonial sources in Germany

Colonial sources in The Netherlands

Colonial sources in Portugal

Colonial sources in Spain

Colonial sources in Sweden

Colonial sources in Switzerland

Foreign records at the Library of Congress

Index

Although technically out-of-print, Family Roots Publishing has several cases of this book in stock – all at a very special price! Order Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas from Family Roots Publishing; Item #: GPC5176; Price: $47.96 [20% off the cover price].

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Searchable historic records are made available on FamilySearch.org through the help of thousands of volunteers from around the world. These volunteers transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the large number of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about volunteering to help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online at FamilySearch.org.

FamilySearch is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources for free at FamilySearch.org or through more than 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.